Two years ago I was traumatized by the bris of my son. This past Sunday, we had a Simchat Bat for Sweetie, a ceremony in which we gave her her Hebrew name. What a difference! It was the same welcoming into the Jewish community. It was the same opportunity to have our family and friends around our child. It was the same excuse to have a good meal. But no angst! No snip snip! How fun! Actually, we took the whole thing quite seriously and Adam and I worked hard to create a very personal ceremony for Sweetie, and we were both quite pleased with the way it turned out. In some ways, it made me wish for a chance to do Doddles brit over again (well, not that snip snip part), as I had no idea what I was doing. The mohel took over and did everything that needed to be done, but I was so dazed and tired and confused that it didn’t occur to me to personalize the ceremony in any way. This time around, for starters, we didn’t have to do it when Sweetie was just eight days old. Second of all, everything is so much easier this time around, so I was able to put some effort into it. I found some readings that were meaningful for us and reflected mine and Adam’s beliefs. And it was really nice to have it right before Rosh Hashanah. Felt like a fresh start for all of us. L’shanah tova!
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